Validating that business idea that has sometimes occupied your mind for a long time (without leaving it), maturing it with the help of specialists and creating a very useful network of contacts are just some of the advantages that those who compete for the contest « Ideias em Caixa” from CRIA – Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer of the University of Algarve pointed him out.
So says Andreia Alves, who saw an unexplored potential in by-products from the exploration of salt marshes, competed in the 2010 edition of the competition and was one of the winners. Today, she is a businesswoman and already has new ideas that she wants to present to the competition, businesses that will complement the ones she is already exploring, with growing success.
The period for submitting applications for the 2013/14 edition, the 4th edition of this competition, runs until February 28th and all those who think they have a valid and original idea to create their own company are invited to participate.
«This contest is good, even if it is just for us to put things on paper», illustrated Andreia Alves. In his case, that helped a lot, as the germ of the «Lama e Sal» company had been maturing in his brain for a long time, before moving on to exposing the idea to CRIA.
“Above all, I think this contest validates our idea and gives us light at the end of the tunnel. In my case, I presented the idea, which was chosen and I thought: Okay, they believed in me, so I'm going to have to go ahead with this», he said.
The businesswoman, whose idea received an Honorable Mention in the 3rd edition of the competition, held in 2010/11, and the director of CRIA Hugo Barros were the guests of the radio program CRIA FM, which the Sul Informação promoted together with Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM (102.7 FM).
“Our goal is to consolidate business ideas, which can go through a maturing phase, which is natural. We seek to support this phase, so that they integrate into the market, after validating this integration with a wealth of knowledge that is necessary, from the Business Plan, the relationship with other entrepreneurs and the identification of funding sources", among others, illustrated Hugo Barros.
The first phase of the contest, the one for which entries are currently open, is very simple to access. Just fill in the application form and make a brief description of the idea and send it to [email protected]. Only in the second phase, for which the 30 proposals that the jury considers to have the most potential are selected, will these ideas be worked on, with the help of CRIA.
At the end of this phase, the contestants will have to submit the idea again, more mature and with a business perspective, so that the jury can choose the ones it considers best.
With the experience gained in this second phase of the 2010 competition, Andreia Alves presented a project to the Employment Center, which gave her «some help to set up the business». "This also helps people to think seriously about whether they have the capacity and whether they are going to see it through to the end," he said.
Andreia Alves also highlighted the “friendships and knowledge” she made in the process. “It is very important to create this network, as wide as possible. This is often more important than monetary rewards», he considered.
This is, moreover, the philosophy behind “Ideias em Caixa”, as far as prizes are concerned. No money is given, but varied support. Basic training in management, help in structuring the business, creating a corporate image and website, as well as the “coaching” from established entrepreneurs are the prizes to which the first 15 classified will be entitled.
«Ideas in box is something that is already in our DNA and is part of our normal activity. We think it has gone very well. We've grown from editing to editing, we've been trying to optimize at some points where we've received good feedback, respond to constructive criticism about what we can improve and understand how we can be an asset to companies», said Hugo Barros.
Comments